How Bundelkhand Expressway would power region's growth

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Bundelkhand Expressway at Kaitheri village in Uttar Pradesh's Jalaun district on July 16. 

The 297 km-long expressway built at the cost of Rs 15,000 crore has been completed within 28 months of Prime Minister Narendra Modi laying the foundation stone on February 29, 2020. 

Ahead of the inauguration, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said the project would become 'the axis of development in the region'. The sprawling four-lane expressway, constructed under the aegis of the Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority (UPEIDA), is expected to make Bundelkhand the axis of development in the region.

The expressway is expected to facilitate the movement of the people of Bundelkhand to Delhi and Lucknow. The expressway extends from NH-35 at Gonda village near Chitrakoot district's Bharatkoop to near Kudrail village in Etawah district, where it assimilated with the Agra-Lucknow expressway. It passes through seven districts, viz. Chitrakoot, Jalaun, Auraiya, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur and Etawah.

Besides improving the region's connectivity, the Bundelkhand Expressway would provide an impetus to economic development and result in the creation of thousands of jobs for local people. Work is already underway on the creation of an industrial corridor in the Banda and Jalaun districts, next to the Expressway.

Chief Minister Yogi, who recently visited Jalaun to take stock of the preparations for the prime minister's arrival, mentioned plans for the creation of defence corridors and industrial clusters in the districts all along this expressway.

The industrial corridors along the Bundelkhand Expressway would have milk processing units, handloom-based units, and food processing units, which would result in major employment generation in the region. 

The government has identified districts like Jalaun and Banda for setting up the industrial corridor for which the state government has provided Rs 100 crore. Industrial clusters will also be developed in Chitrakoot, Hamirpur and Mahoba districts.

Plans are also in motion to develop this heritage-rich region as a cultural tourism hub. In its 2022-23 budget, the Yogi government allocated Rs 500 crore for several special schemes in Bundelkhand. 

During the recent Chitrakoot Yatra, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated 15 projects worth Rs 32.87 crore and laid the foundation stone FOR 28 projects worth Rs 82.55 crore.

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